Apps to monitor internet usage are in hot demand with parents. Opposing Views listed MMGuardian Parental Control as a strong solution for parents looking for effective mobile controls on apps and phone usage.
Check out the rest of Opposing Views’ post on how to monitor internet usage:
Apps to Track Internet Use
by Chad Davis, Demand Media
Smartphones and mobile devices have created new challenges for parents to monitor their children’s Internet usage. According to a Pew Research Center study completed in September 2012, three in four American teenagers ages 12-17 access the Internet on mobile devices. Mobile applications can block Web sites and log keystrokes to help track Internet usage on your smartphone or mobile device.
What can do parental control apps?
Track social media usage
An important feature for monitoring Internet use is social integration. Social networks increase your risk of encountering Internet predators and identity theft. Net Nanny Social was developed by ContentWatch Inc. to help protect kids from cyber-threats encountered through social networking apps on mobile devices. Net Nanny Social monitors harmful content — inappropriate media and language — and generates alert notifications and activity reports for Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Tumblr and Twitter.
Set web filters
You can customize a whitelist of websites that can be accessed on your mobile device using Web monitors. My Mobile Watchdog is a smartphone app that enables you to block specific websites and receive alerts when your device attempts to access a blocked site. Some apps, such as Kytetime, restrict the usage of third-party Web browsers to ensure blocked sites cannot be accessed on your mobile device. Parental control apps often include filtered Web content such as games and cartoons for children. These apps use Web filters or custom Web browsers to generate kid-friendly content. Kytephone and Net Nanny offer you full-featured mobile protection from inappropriate Web content.
Have app control
Mobile apps often connect to the Internet to generate media-rich content and synchronize user information. As a result, you may want to restrict certain apps from being opened by others. It’s possible to schedule specific times that an app is available for use. Kytetime is an app targeting parents of teenagers and includes the ability to turn off text-messaging and Facebook during school hours. MMGuardian Parental Controls features time limits for specific apps such as games — enabling you to limit the amount of time an app can be used. A unique feature available with MMGuardian Parental Controls is the ability to restrict smartphone use when driving by detecting when the device is moving above 10 miles per hour.
Set availability
Internet monitoring apps that focus on parental controls often feature Web dashboards you can access from a computer. These dashboards report activity and data information from the device, including text messages, Web browser history and app usage logs accessible from any Web browser. Net Nanny offers remote administration on devices running Google Android 2.2+ and Apple iOS 5.0+ through the Net Nanny website. As of April 2013, MMGuardian Parental Controls is available on Android 2.1+ devices and offers a free 14-day trial of its enhanced subscription features, including app control. Kytephone and Kytetime are free apps that do not require any subscriptions for mobile devices running Android OS 2.2+. At the date of publication, My Mobile Watchdog requires a $5 monthly subscription and is available for download on Blackberry 4.6+ and Android 2.2+ mobile devices.
